If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear? : an examination of the 1997 Security Intelligence Service Amendment Bill and protest directed against it : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts at Massey University

Abstract

In 1977, following an investigation of the SIS by the Chief Ombudsman Sir Guy Powles, Robert Muldoon's National Government introduced the Security Intelligence Service Amendment Bill to amend the 1969 legislation governing the Security Intelligence Service (SIS). A protest movement emerged, that opposed both the changes proposed by the Bill, and the organisation it affected. The 1969 Act has been amended three times: in 1977, 1996 and 1999. This thesis focuses on the amendments introduced by legislation in 1977, reaction to the Bill and the mobilisation of a movement to protest the Bill, and the extent to which protest influenced the proposed legislation. The Bill attracted a widespread movement opposed to its provisions. Many protest movements from the 1970s and 1980s have been examined by scholars, such as Kevin Clement's examination of the anti-nuclear movement in Back from the Brink: The Creation of a Nuclear-Free New Zealand¹Kevin Clements, Back from the Brink: The Creation of a Nuclear-Free New Zealand, Wellington: Allen & Unwin, 1988.; Elsie Locke's history of the peace movement - Peace People²Elsie Locke, Peace People: A History of Peace Activities in New Zealand, Christchurch: Hazard Press, 1992.; and Trevor Richard's work on the anti-apartheid movement - Dancing on our Bones³Trevor Richards, Dancing on our Bones: New Zealand, South Africa, rugby and racism, Wellington: Bridget Williams Books, 1999. However, the opposition to the SIS and the 1977 SIS Amendment Bill has yet to be adequately discussed in an historical context. Protest against the Bill drew upon past movements, particularly through the involvement of 'veterans' of protest groups such as the Committee on Vietnam, and also influenced movements that followed it, such as the anti-apartheid protests in 1981. This thesis, in attempting to place the anti-SIS Bill movement in an historical context, seeks to answer the following key questions. What did the Bill propose, and why was it introduced? How and why were people opposed to the Bill? To what extent were they successful in meeting their objectives?